aloo paratha

Aloo paratha With step by step photos. Popular Indian breakfast of unleavened whole wheat flat bread stuffed with a spiced potato stuffing.

Aloo paratha isOne of the most popular paratha recipe from Punjab, India. This delicious Punjabi aloo paratha is one of the most loved breakfast at my place. One of the first recipes I learnt from my Punjabi mother-in-law and I have been making these tasty parathas for years now.

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Aloo paratha and why we love it

One of the most repeated breakfast in my home is aloo paratha. Everyone loves it. Piping-hot crisp wheat flatbreads stuffed with spiced, faintly sour mashed potatoes stuffing and relished with some tangy sour mango pickle. What is not to love about aloo paratha. The best part of making parathas is that you can serve them for breakfast as well pack them in the lunch box for kids. Even after some hours, the aloo paratha tastes delicious.

In Punjabi families, parathas are made with lots of love and affection. Most of the times parathas are roasted with lots of ghee and then served with dollops of white butter or Makhan as we call them in Punjabi. However, you can add less ghee and even roast the parathas with oil.

‘aloo’ is the hindi word for potatoes and ‘paratha’ means an unleavened stuffed flatbread. So aloo paratha literally means potato-stuffed flatbreads or flatbreads stuffed with potatoes.

Though there are many variations of stuffed paratha, many folks like aloo ke parathe. In my home, gobi paratha and aloo paratha are winners all the time.

To make aloo paratha you need 2 main elements

Dough made from whole wheat flour – a basic dough is made with whole wheat flour (atta), salt, oil and water. Making dough is very easy and you can either knead with hands or in a stand mixer.

Potato stuffing – potatoes are boiled, peeled and then mashed. To the mashed potatoes, some herbs, spices and salt are added. The spiced mashed potatoes are then stuffed in a rolled dough and roasted or fried. In the stepwise photos below I have explained in detail two ways of stuffing potatoes.

Tips for making aloo ke parathe

Cooking potatoes – potatoes can be cooked either in a pan or in a pressure cooker. Potatoes can be steamed too. To cook potatoes in a pressure cooker or pan, add water just about covering the potatoes and cook them till they are softened well and fork-tender. For pressure cooking, cook for 3 whistles on a medium flame.

Texture of mashed potatoes – the potatoes should be mashed very well. There should not be any lumps or small pieces in it so that the parathas do not break while rolling. The texture of mashed potatoes should be light and smooth.

Making the paratha more nutritious – to the mashed potatoes stuffing, you can add a few more cooked and mashed veggies like peas, carrot, french beans. Some grated cheese or paneer can also be added to make these flat-breads making them more tasty & nutritious.

Finely chopped herbs – herbs like coriander leaves, green chillies have to be chopped finely. If you use onions, then chop them finely too.

Tangy taste – the mashed potatoes stuffing have a slightly tangy taste in them. This tanginess is achieved by the addition of amchur powder which is basically finely ground sundried unripe mangoes. It is also called as dried mango powder. If you do not have dried mango powder, an easier substitute is lemon juice. Yet another substitute ingredient, but a rare one is dried pomegranate seeds powder (anardana powder).

Oil or ghee – while kneading the dough either oil or ghee can be used. Adding either of them makes the parathas soft. To make the vegan aloo paratha, use oil to knead the dough and also to roast the parathas.

Frying or roasting – alu paratha can be either shallow fried or roasted. An iron griddle, which we call as tava in hindi is used to make paratha. The roadside stalls or dhaba shallow fry paratha in ghee or oil. At home they are roasted with some ghee or oil. Homemade paratha are healthier as compared to the fried paratha available outside.

Hotness of the tawa (griddle) for frying – keep the flame medium-high to high while roasting parathas. If the heat is low, then the parathas become dense as they take a long time to cook. In case the heat increases in the tawa (due to the thickness or build of the tawa), then decrease the flame. You can always adjust the flame when cooking parathas.

How to make aloo paratha

1. First boil 4 medium-sized potatoes. You can boil or steam the potatoes in a pressure cooker, steamer or electric cooker. Add enough water in a 2-litre pressure cooker or pan just about covering the potatoes.

For cooking in a pressure cooker – On a medium flame cook the potatoes in the water for 3 to 4 whistles. When the pressure settles down on its own in the cooker, remove the lid. Drain the water and allow the potatoes to become warm.

For cooking in a pan – Cover the pan and cook potatoes in water till fork tender. When cooking potatoes in a pan, it helps to peel them first and chop them in 2 inch cubes. Chopped potatoes cook faster than whole potatoes. Using a colander, drain all the water and let the potatoes become warm.

2. Peel & chop the boiled warm potatoes. Then mash the potatoes with a potato masher. You can even grate and then mash the potatoes.

3. The potatoes should be mashed very well. There should not be any tiny bits of unmashed potatoes.

5. With a spoon, mix the spice powders and green chilies with the mashed potatoes very well. Check the taste and add more salt or red chilli powder or dry mango powder if required. You can also add 1 to 2 tablespoons of finely chopped coriander leaves. Another variation is to add finely chopped onions if you like. But remember to chop the onions finely or else they pop out when rolling the parathas. Keep the prepared aloo stuffing aside.

Making aloo paratha dough

6. In another bowl or pan, take 2 cups whole wheat flour. Make a well in the center. Add ½ teaspoon salt or as required, 1 tablespoon oil or ghee and some water (roughly ⅓ to ½ cup).

7. Bring the mixture together and knead into a smooth soft dough for 8 to 10 minutes. Add more water if required while kneading. Cover and keep the dough aside for 20 to 30 minutes.

1st method to roll aloo paratha

8. pinch two small balls from the dough. Flatten them and dust with whole wheat flour.

9, with a rolling pin, roll them into about 4 to 5 inches diameter rounds. Try making both the rounds of the same size.

10. on one of the rolled dough circle, place the potato stuffing in the center and keep about 1 inch empty space from the sides.

11. gently place the second circle on top.

12. Press and seal the edges with your fingertips. If you are not able to seal the edges, then brush or spread some water on the edges of the two rounds and then seal.

13. dust some flour on the stuffed paratha and start rolling the aloo paratha.

14. Roll the paratha into a round of about 7 to 8 inches in diameter or about the size of a normal roti or chapati.

2nd method to roll aloo paratha

15. Pinch a medium ball dough. Roll between your palms and lightly flatten it. Dust with some flour and roll it to a circle of about 5 to 5.5 inches diameter. Place the potato stuffing in the center, keeping about 2 to 2.5 inches space from the sides.

16. take the edge and start pleating as well as bringing the pleats in the center.

17. join the pleats together. The pleats have to be joined well, as otherwise there will be gaps while rolling and the filling comes out.

18. Press the joined top portion slightly downward from the center.

19. Sprinkle some flour and roll this version of stuffed paratha to about the same size as that of a chapati or roti. In case if the filling comes out, then just take a small piece of dough and cover the gap. Roll to smoothen out the small piece of dough. Try keeping the same thickness throughout while rolling the dough. Avoid keeping the edges thick.

Frying aloo paratha

20. On a hot tawa (skillet or griddle) place the rolled paratha. The tawa should be hot and not at a low temperature. Cooking parathas at a low flame will harden them. Parathas ideally are crisp as well as soft. Keep the flame to medium-high or high for a thick bottomed and heavy tawa. For a medium or thin bottomed and less heavy tawa, keep the flame to medium-low to medium.

21. when the base is partly cooked, flip the paratha.

22. Spread some ghee on the partly cooked part. You can also use oil instead of ghee. If using oil, then use peanut oil or sunflower oil.

23. Flip again and you will see nice golden blisters on the second side. This time the side which has been spread with ghee will be at the bottom. This side has to be cooked more than the previous side.

24. Spread some ghee on the second side facing you. A well made and well-roasted alu paratha will puff up.

25. Flip again once or twice till both the sides are cooked properly. You should see crisp brown spots on the alu paratha. You can also press the paratha edges with a spatula or spoon, so that they are fried well. Since sometimes, the paratha edges are not cooked well. Make all parathas this way.

I usually stuff and make aloo ke parathe side by side. Multitasking :-). I roast them and keep on stacking them in the roti basket or casserole. I add a bit of homemade butter on top of each aloo paratha in the roti basket while placing them.

You can also serve the aloo paratha directly from the tawa (skillet) straight in the serving plate. Serve some extra butter on the side, along with mango pickle or lemon pickle or dal makhani or some fresh curd (yogurt).

Serving suggestions for aloo ka paratha

Aloo paratha can be accompanied with plain curd (yogurt) or boondi raita.

Butter (salted or unsalted) can also be served as a side dish.

A side of mango pickle or lemon pickle can also be served.

You can also serve aloo ka paratha with dal makhani or chana masala. Many dhabas in India serve alu ka paratha with dal makhani or chana masala.

You can even serve aloo paratha plain.

They also make a good tiffin box snack as they stay soft even after cooling.

Mix the spice powders and green chilies with the mashed potatoes very well. Check the taste and add more salt or red chili powder or dry mango powder as per your taste.

kneading dough

In another bowl or pan, take whole wheat flour (atta).

Make a well in the center. Add salt, oil and about half of the water.

Bring the mixture together and knead into a smooth soft dough.

Cover and keep the dough aside for 20 to 30 minutes.

rolling and stuffing aloo paratha : method 1

Pinch two small balls from the dough. Flatten them and dust with whole wheat flour.

With a rolling pin, roll them into about 4 to 5 inches diameter rounds . Try making both the rounds of the same size.

On one of the rolled dough circle, place the potato stuffing in the center and keep about 1 inch empty space from the sides.

Gently place the second circle on top.

Press and seal the edges with your fingertips.

Dust some flour on the stuffed paratha and roll into a round of about 7 to 8 inches in diameter or about the size of a normal roti or chapati.

rolling and stuffing aloo paratha : method 2

Pinch a medium ball dough. Roll and flatten it. Dust with some flour and roll it in a circle of about 5 to 5.5 inches in diameter.

Place the potato stuffing in the center, keeping about 2 to 2.5 inches space from the sides.

Take the edge and start pleating as well as bringing the pleats in the center.

Join the pleats together. The pleats have to be joined well, as otherwise there will be gaps while rolling and the filling comes out.

In case you do see the filling, then just take a small piece of dough and cover the gap. Roll to smoothen out the small piece of dough.

Press the pleats from center.

Sprinkle some flour and roll this version of aloo paratha to about the same size as that of a chapati or roti.

making aloo ke parathe

On a hot tava (tawa or skillet or griddle) place the rolled paratha.

The Tava shoud be hot and not at a low temperaure. Cooking parathas at a low flame will harden them. Parathas ideally are crisp as well as soft.

When the base is partly cooked, flip the alu paratha.

Spread some ghee on the partly cooked part.

Flip again and this time this side has to be cooked more than the previous side. You will see brown spots on the paratha.

Spread some ghee on this side too. A well made and well roasted aloo ka paratha will puff up.

Flip again once or twice till both the sides of aloo paratha are cooked properly. You should see crisp brown spots on the paratha.

You can also Press the paratha edges with a spatula or spoon, so that they are fried well. As some time, the paratha edges are not cooked well.

Make all aloo ke parathe this way and stack them up in a roti basket or casserole.

You can also serve the aloo paratha directly from the tava (skillet) straight in the serving plate. Serve some extra butter on the side, along with mango pickle or lemon pickle or some yogurt.

Notes

Adding oil or ghee while kneading the dough makes the parathas soft.

The aloo stuffing mixture can be made according to your taste and liking. You can also add roasted cumin seeds powder (jeera powder), rock salt, coriander powder.

To the aloo stuffing, you can also add other boiled and mashed veggies like peas, carrot, french beans, also grated cheese and paneer, to make it more nutritious and you have your mix veg paratha.

Always cut the onions, chillies, coriander leaves very finely. Also, the aloo should be mashed very well. There should not be any lumps or small pieces in it. This is so, so that, the parathas do not break while rolling.

If you do not have amchur powder, then you can use anardana powder or lemon juice. Add as per your taste.

To vegan aloo paratha, roast the paratha with oil instead of ghee. Also use oil while needing the dough.

Nutrition Info (approximate values)

Nutrition Facts

Aloo Paratha

Amount Per Serving

Calories 213Calories from Fat 81

% Daily Value*

Fat 9g14%

Saturated Fat 5g31%

Monounsaturated Fat 2g

Cholesterol 23mg8%

Sodium 413mg18%

Potassium 390mg11%

Carbohydrates 28g9%

Fiber 4g17%

Protein 5g10%

Vitamin A 300IU6%

Vitamin C 8.7mg11%

Calcium 30mg3%

Iron 3.3mg18%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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namaste and welcome to vegrecipesofindia.com which i started in feb 2009 and is a pure vegetarian blog. i have been passionate about cooking from childhood and began to cook from the age of 10. later having enrolled in a home science degree greatly enhanced my cooking & baking skills and took it to a different level which i now share as foolproof recipes. i was formally trained both in mainstream indian as well as international cuisines.

Hi. I have made aloo paranthas following your recipe. It turned out pretty good. The only thing is they were very thick. I tried to make them as thin as possible but still it were thick. My sister and brother-in-law make aloo paranthas and always have them with tomato fry. It really goes well with paranthas.

dassana amit

May 24, 2016

thanks sukhvinder. try rolling thin. also the dough should be soft and pliable, so its easy to roll the parathas evenly and thinly. it will take some practice and then you will get the knack of rolling parathas very well. thanks for sharing about the tomato fry. first time i am hearing of such a recipe 🙂

Ipsita

May 14, 2016

thank u so much for the all the recipes…. my daughter and my husband love each and every recipe I try and serve….

dassana amit

May 15, 2016

thankyou ipsita 🙂

Dr vr murty avancha

May 14, 2016

Excellent , marvellous, Tasty , I have tried a look porata

bhawana

May 14, 2016

i made it omg u r gr8 daasana it was too delicious ???

dassana amit

May 14, 2016

thankyou 🙂

Lakshmi

May 11, 2016

Hi, very easy recipe to follow. But i wanted to add more of the filling to the paratha and if I did the paratha would break. If I added less it was too less. Am I doing something wrong..?

dassana amit

May 11, 2016

too much of filling will break the paratha. while making stuffed paratha initially, its difficult to gauge the amount of filling that is needed. but after a few trials, you will know how much filling needs to be added.

rekha g

Apr 24, 2016

fantastic i uesd to think parathas isnt easy and to stuff is more difficult but after seei g the v ideo that too in a systametic manner its b ecome easy for me

dassana amit

Apr 25, 2016

pleased to know this rekha 🙂 thankyou so much.

Thomas P Thomas

Apr 24, 2016

Thanks a lot for this. Finally, I was able to figure out how to roll the dough with the stuffing. It did turn out well. 🙂

dassana amit

Apr 24, 2016

pleased to know this thankyou thomas for trying them 🙂

Vandana

Mar 30, 2016

Tried the aloo parathas and they were perfect and some of other recipes like lime rice. My family loved it and thank you !

dassana amit

Mar 30, 2016

pleased to know this vandana 🙂 glad you liked parathas and lemon rice recipe from the blog. welcome always and thankyou .

chanbi

Feb 23, 2016

I’m a Manipuri and was looking up paratha recipes cos i have never made them myself. tried onion paratha yesterday from your recipe. came out really well. will try aloo paratha today 🙂

dassana amit

Feb 23, 2016

thanks a lot chanbi for this feedback. happy cooking 🙂

Aparna

Feb 07, 2016

Hey!! Have tried so many of your recepies. You are truly amazing. Superb dishes!! Keep up the great work

dassana amit

Feb 07, 2016

pleased to know this thankyou aparna 🙂

Aabroo ji

Jan 05, 2016

Very simple and very tasty recipes.Thank I verrrrrrry much

dassana amit

Jan 05, 2016

thankyou aabrooji 🙂

Poonam

Nov 30, 2015

It came out so well ! Thank u for so much ?

dassana amit

Nov 30, 2015

welcome and thankyou poonam 🙂

gabby

Nov 27, 2015

Being the Chinese ,I am like it very much..now i am learning how to make it.Thanks!

dassana amit

Nov 27, 2015

thankyou gabby 🙂 and you are welcome.

Devi

Oct 22, 2015

Being a South Indian also, I really enjoyed d taste. Thank u so much for ur recipe.

dassana amit

Oct 22, 2015

welcome devi and thankyou for trying the aloo paratha 🙂

apple

Oct 19, 2015

thanks for the recipi… thank u sis….

dassana amit

Oct 19, 2015

welcome apple.

s roza bi

Oct 12, 2015

It is a very good recipes for me thanks a lot of u dassana I tried or first recipe palak paneer, 2nd paneer butter Marsala on my daughter birthday ,my daughter like so much da dishes

Hi! I’m going to try this, sometime this week. I can use all purpose flour. My daughter does not like the brown colour after cooking. She is very picky. I will let u know after I have tried it.

Thanks

dassana amit

May 24, 2015

welcome mehrunnisa. you can use. you can also use mix of all purpose flour and whole wheat flour. as whole wheat flour is more healthy. for the texture of the paratha you can check this aloo kulcha recipe – https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/aloo-kulcha-recipe/

akhil jamwal

Apr 05, 2015

nice and simple method i like this…recipe very much…

dassana amit

Apr 05, 2015

thanks akhil

pushpa

Apr 02, 2015

i like roti and parathas i will try all this receipes its very good.

dassana amit

Apr 02, 2015

thanks pushpa

saima gulzar

Mar 16, 2015

Nice aloo parrantha

gouri

Mar 15, 2015

Very nice

NFH

Mar 14, 2015

Loved it! Made it for my family and they also did! Superb recipe!!

dassana amit

Mar 15, 2015

Thanks NFH

sonali rai

Mar 14, 2015

Awesome recepies….

dassana amit

Mar 14, 2015

thanks sonali

meera jaiswal

Mar 09, 2015

Nice aloo paratha..

Breid

Mar 06, 2015

Great A-Z of making Aloo Paratha’s – Thank You

dassana amit

Mar 06, 2015

welcome breid

N

Mar 04, 2015

Great recipe. Made this for the first time. I am really happy!! No more shop bought ones!! Thankyou

dassana amit

Mar 04, 2015

Glad to know this.

Muthawassira Kausar

Feb 28, 2015

Visual things speaks more than words. Your recipe illustration with pictures gives more impact which retains in the mind for a longer period of time. Thank you for your great recipe Muthawassira.

dassana amit

Mar 02, 2015

welcome muthawassira. thanks for your kind words. i agree with you totally – one good picture is better than 1000 words.

Sudhamani

Feb 25, 2015

The recipe is very good. My kids liked it very much. Your way of teaching the recipes is good. It is motivating me towards trying new dishes which is not my interest. So many thanks to you.

I’ve tried this at Indian restaurants where I live and always wanted to try it at home. Then I found your blog and for the fist time in my life I made aloo paratha and I’m glad I did! Thank you very much for your perfect recipe and also for the lovely picture illustrations!

Namaste. I am the chef and author of Veg Recipes of India. I shared, tried & tested Indian as well as world vegetarian recipes in a detailed step by step photos, which will help you to make delicious, tasty and tasty vegetarian food easily. READ MORE